7 Best Meals When You're Cooking for One

Eating alone? Put down that microwave dinner and step away from the Pop-Tarts. We found these very healthful (and very tasty) ways to eat solo

Take heart, solo diners -- you may be sitting at the table by yourself, but you can still eat healthier than the people who are partnered up.

Eating for one is something that at least 73 percent of people living in single-person households do regularly, according to the Economic Research Service/United States Department of Agriculture's 2008 Eating and Health Module. And while there's nothing technically wrong with eating a meal by yourself, the unfortunate fact is that the meal is more likely to be an unhealthy one.

Why? No one's paying attention to what you're eating, for one thing. When we get home, we kick off our shoes, turn on the TV, and go into autopilot mode, says Luigi Gratton, MD, MPH, And when we're dining solo, it's easy for us to cook -- and eat -- more than we need. "People who live by themselves have some real challenges when it comes to cooking healthy meals," he says. "Most recipes are geared for four to six people, extra half heads of broccoli or lettuce that don't get used just go to waste and -- let's face it -- sometimes it just seems like too much trouble to cook for just yourself."

I loved these thoughtful tips for singles. I like making a big batch of soup once a week. I pack it for lunches and if I start getting tired of it, I freeze a few portions for those later times that I don't feel like making something from scratch. I love my slow cooker, but need to take advantage of it more.

I think I need to start using my slow cooker now. I have one, but have never used it. I think because I'm a vegetarian and I can only think of my mother using hers for roast and stuff. I better get on that recipe!